A TEXT sex service for young peopleto seek advice, set up in Loughborough, has been hailed a county success after receiving around 20 messages a week from sexually-conscious teenagers.

The Community Safer Sex Project, based at John Storer House, in Loughborough, set up the text service some years ago – with youngsters able to ping across their questions for a dedicated team to answer.

The aim of the project is to empower teenagers to think about their decisions but also to cut down on the country’s frightening teenage pregnancy rates.

The text service now receives 15 to 20 texts each week, and has already become more popular than the cross-county text hotline THINK, which has been decommissioned in response.

Katie Phillips, Leicestershire Teenage Pregnancy Coordinator, believes the success of the local number is because young people prefer to know who is receiving their message and that the answer will come from a credible source.

She said: “It is important that young people can access convenient services so they can decide if they are really ready to have sex, and practice safer sex if they are sexually active. The text service is a fantastic tool to give young people the confidence and skills to make decisions about their sexual health for themselves.

“We are pleased with the success of this local text-in service as this new method is helping us reach young people who may experience barriers in accessing sexual health support.”